A Middle Ground in the heart of Qing China (original) (raw)

Between politics and religion. The reasons for the meeting of the 6th Panchen Lama Palden Yeshe and the Qianlong Emperor in 1780 in China

The Polish Journal of the Arts and Culture. New Series 9, 2019

The purpose of the text is to present and discuss the possible reasons which induced the Qianlong Emperor to invite the 6th Panchen Lama Palden Yeshe to visit China, in light of the possible factors which influenced the acceptance by the latter of the invitation to visit the Man-chu court. The article constitutes an analysis and a comparison of the concepts presented in scholarly articles devoted to Tibetan-Manchu relations in the middle of the 18th century. The context for the subject under discussion is furnished by the representation of the question of the mutual relations of politics and religion.

Tibet: A History. By Sam van Schaik. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2011. xxiii, 324 pp. $35.00 (cloth)

The Journal of Asian Studies, 2012

, the missionary accomplishments of the Sakya School in the early seventeenth century. But the Geluk hegemony deeply changed the historical narratives of the time; Ishihama's short discussion is inspiring, but one wonders if the Geluk School fully excluded others in the seventeenth century. Research shows that other schools were present at the Qing court with support from powerful princes at late as the 1730s. Matters were also complicated within the Geluk School. Chapter 10 indicates that the Sixth Panchen Lama tactically added a figure from central Tibet into the Amdo-originated Lcang Skya lineage of incarnations. Moreover, much attention is paid to highly respected Buddhists at the court. However they also traveled and wrote extensively: for instance, the Lcang Skya spent considerable time on the road and produced an enormous amount of writing. What, then, can one learn about the Buddhist world and the Qing at the margins from these writings? In other words, studying Qing-Tibetan Buddhist relations begins with the court, but should not stop there. These questions aside, this book engages Qing imperial management with the Tibetan Buddhist world thoughtfully. It should thus not only be of interest to scholars of Tibetan history and of Qing frontier management, but also be inspiring to those interested in religion in multiethnic empires in early modern time. Some readers can also utilize the appendixes, which include Romanized versions of Mongolian, Tibetan, and Manchu stele inscriptions, and Chinese materials in the original script (pp. 260-305). Several chapters, such as chapter 5, on the significance of the Yonghegong in Beijing, and chapter 10, which compares the differences in reconstructing the lineage history of the Qianlong emperor and that of the Lcang Skya, would be particularly important to translate into English for a wider audience.

Views of the country, visions of self : Chosŏn dynasty travel records on Chiri-san and Paektu-san

Asiatische Studien/Études Asiatiques, 1998

Analyse de 8 textes hanmun issus de la litterature de voyage coreenne a l'epoque de la dynastie Choson, relatant des voyages sur les sommets des montagnes Chiri-san et Paektu-san. Malgre l'importance du cadre litteraire et de l'influence chinoise, ces recits ont largement contribue a l'affirmation de l'identite nationale coreenne. Ils donnent notamment un apercu sur la conception du monde de leurs auteurs et du contexte intellectuel de l'epoque. Ils constituent aussi des documents historiques sur la pratique du voyage domestique. La description des rituels lies a la contemplation des sommets, loin d'etre un simple commentaire descriptif, s'inscrit dans les controverses ideologiques de l'epoque et revele les contours de la representation de soi des individus.

A Gift of Tibet’s History for Qubilai Khan

Tibeto-logic, 2023

A previously scarcely noticed history written in 1287 has a few surprising things to tell us. For instance how some of the earliest monks of the Second Spread, with two Uighur Turks among them, held esoteric Dzogchen lineages of the Aro tradition. Another matter: we might say that a small light falls on how Tibetan religious leaders and Mongolian rulers of the post-conquest era forged an often uncomfortable relationship by acknowledging, and to a degree going along with, the limitations and 'false consciousness' of their interlocuters.

The Qianlong Emperor and the Confucian "Temple of Culture" (Wen miao) at Chengde

When Qianlong and his entourage arrived at Chengde on June 29, 1780, the first thing he did was to stop at the Chenghuang miao (City God Temple), located just outside the southwest wall of the Bishu shanzhuang, near the Bifeng men (Jade Peak Gate). 1 He was, in effect, reporting to the local spiritual authority. From there he went to the adjacent Wen miao (Confucian Temple, or Temple of Culture; see Fig. 20), to make ritual offerings to the "First Teacher," Confucius (Kong Fuzi, 551-479 B.C.E.). 2 The temple had just been completed the previous year, when Qianlong had performed the first ritual libation, offering a stele inscription (translated below) and issuing an edict to announce the founding of the temple and the school connected with it. 3